DON'T GIVE UP IN DECEMBER!

December can be a tough month for a lot of people. With Christmas / the holiday season approaching, it can seem like our to-do lists are never-ending, and finding time for self care often becomes even more challenging. Depending on your own personal experience with this time of year, it might also bring up some difficult emotions and shifty moods; don't forgot to offer yourself lots of compassion, and the permission to start again any time you need (you don't have to wait until the New Year!)

Here are my tips for THRIVING through the holiday season:

BATHE IN SUNLIGHT
Until after the winter solstice in a few weeks when our days start getting longer again, try to make the most of our limited daylight hours ~ make sure to get out for a little bit of vitamin D! It can take some planning, but make sure you don't go through the coldest and darkest winter months without seeking any sun!

PRESENCE > PRESENTS 
My fondest memories of this time of year have to do with laughter and excitement and happy tears and music and houses full of people taking the time to truly connect with one another. Be present. Don't let yourself miss out on the beauty all around you because of holiday stress or anxiety. 

DON'T COMPLETELY THROW DIET/NUTRITION TO THE WIND 
Let me tell you a little story... When I was just about to reach my 25th birthday, I was living in Australia and walking absolutely everywhere. I also taught a lot of yoga, and I was having trouble keeping weight on. I had befriended a group of Russian expats who loved vodka, food, and enjoying it together in large groups (lucky me!) and I decided to indulge my skinny little heart out over that holiday season... and I gained 25 pounds in about a month. (If that doesn't alarm you, know that 25lbs was more than 25% of my previous bodyweight!) It was so nice at first, but after a couple of weeks of booze and sugar in major excess, I actually felt terrible, and it took me almost two years to take that weight off. {I learned the hard way that my late-twenties body wasn't quite as resilient as it had been just a few years earlier!}

LOOK BOTH FORWARD AND BACK
The new year is upon us, and it's a great time to start thinking about some changes or adjustments you'd like to make as we move into 2018. Don't wait until December 31 to plan your resolutions; really reflect on your ambitions and goals, and ask yourself why you want to make these changes - make sure they are for YOU. Take some time to reflect on the past year, creating awareness around things you'd like to improve, but also (very importantly), acknowledging your personal triumphs and accomplishments, big or small. 

DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR YOGA PRACTICE OR FITNESS ROUTINE 
I'm not saying you don't need a break now - I bet you really do - but I see it happen all the time, and I don't want it to happen to you: we say "Ahh f*ck it, the year is almost over. I'll start again in the new year," and we totally give up and make it much more difficult to get into those shiny new resolutions come January 1st. Slow down, if you need. Schedule some time for self care. Just don't give up now. 


I had a feeling that health and fitness goals would be among the top New Year's Resolutions for most people (in first world countries), and I was right. I looked at a few lists, and they are all very similar.  Accordingly to a poll conducted in the UK in 2015, our top resolutions are as follows:

1. Exercise more (38 per cent)
2. Lose weight (33 per cent)
3. Eat more healthily (32 per cent)
4. Take a more active approach to health (15 per cent) 
5. Learn new skill or hobby (15 per cent) 
6. Spend more time on personal wellbeing (12 per cent) 
7. Spend more time with family and friends (12 per cent) 
8. Drink less alcohol (12 per cent) 
9. Stop smoking (9 per cent)
10. Other (1 per cent)

I have a big surprise for you guys in 2018, which I'm hoping will help with some yoga/health/wellness-related resolutions you might be rolling out in the new year. But, until then, please feel free to reach out to me any time. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, YOGIS!